Canadians are questioning immigration targets, but that doesn’t mean they’re anti-immigrant

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There has been a “dramatic reversal” in public support for the number of people Canada hopes to bring in, according to a new national survey, just as the country gets set to announce its new immigration targets.

The survey of roughly 2,000 people in September said Canadians are significantly more likely than a year ago to say there is too much immigration, reversing a decades-long trend, with 44 per cent either strongly or somewhat agreed to the statement, “There is too much immigration to Canada,” up from 27 per cent last year. The proportion of people who disagreed with the statement dropped to 51 per cent from 69 per cent.

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“We have been tracking public opinion on the immigration issues for a number of years … opinions were in broad support both for immigration levels and immigration generally,” said Keith Neuman, a senior associate at Environics Institute, which conducted the survey along with Century Initiative, a charity. “Over the past year, there has been a significant shift in the context of our trends, quite dramatic.”

Neuman, however, said the survey does not suggest Canadians are “becoming more anti-immigrant,” but shows the public’s attention has shifted toward capacity, with new questions being raised regarding the country’s ability to accommodate the hundreds of thousands of newcomers it intends to bring in annually.

“We are not seeing a change in the public attitude of immigrants itself,” he said. “A strong majority of Canadians still believe that immigration is good for the economy. There are no more concerns than a year ago.”

The federal government this week is set to announce its annual Immigration Levels Plan, which estimates the number of permanent residents who will be admitted in the coming years. Last year, Canada aimed to accept 465,000 permanent residents by 2023, 485,000 in 2024 and 500,000 in 2025.

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Immigration Minister Marc Miller, who will announce his first plan, faces an environment that his predecessor rarely had to deal with. For one, Canada is going through a housing crisis, which some economists say might worsen with the country’s current targets.

In addition, Canada admitted nearly 700,000 temporary residents — foreigners who either have a work or study permit or have claimed refugee status — in the past year, a figure that’s much higher than its permanent residency targets.

A strong majority of Canadians still believe that immigration is good for the economy

Keith Neumann

Neuman attributes the recent shift in sentiment to rising concerns about housing and the negative sentiment linked to the economy. The survey said 34 per cent of Canadians are satisfied with the way things are going in the country, down 13 percentage points from 2022.

He said the survey should act as a “bit of a flag” for the government, with the main message being that more people are questioning the immigration targets.

“The government would probably not be surprised with these findings,” Neuman said. “What the government I think is doing and probably will focus on doing is communicating clearly about not only whatever (numbers) they are facing, but the rationale for it and how they are managing it.”

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Rebekah Young, an economist at the Bank of Nova Scotia, echoed a similar sentiment on Oct. 23 when she said the government needs to provide a clear picture on how many new residents it expects — permanent or otherwise — and better manage expectations of those already here on temporary visas.

“If the government continues to raise the permanent residency targets, without providing additional information, they risk appearing disconnected or insensitive to reality on the ground,” she said.

Lisa Lalande, chief executive of Century Initiative, said in a statement that she sees the survey as a “clarion call” for “proactive economic planning, astute integration policies, and investments in areas of concern, such as housing, in order to preserve the confidence of Canadians.”

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